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The IFP - Halton Hills | Thursday, July 1, 2021 | 16 theifp.ca SAVE 46 % OFF THE NEWSSTAND RATE Get the Toronto Star weekend home delivery for just * AWEEK FOR 12 MONTHS YOU’LL GET: © Saturday and Sunday home delivery « Starweek Magazine print edition « Complimentary 7-day ePaper edition © Complimentary 7-day access to thestar.com website SUBSCRIBE ONLINE: tsoffers.ca/deal/comm OR CALL: 416-367-4500 and quote code 2DAYSAVE for weekend home delivery for 12 months IBNEWS CAN | STILL GET COVID-19 AFTER BEING VACCINATED? INFECTION IS STILL POSSIBLE UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT UNLIKELY: EXPERTS VERONICA APPIA vappia@toronto.com Getting COVID-19 after being immunized against the virus, while possible, is highly unlikely. In fact, according to ex- perts, sibility tothestarcom and the Torn Cut out paying more ur only destination for more coupons, more flyers, more savings. #SavingWithSave SAVE $2.00 ON EGG Bites!™ Scan to get coupons save.ca/coupons of post- i infection i is not exclusive to COVID-19 in which a vaccinated per- son can still get infected with the COVID-19 virus, it is first important to under- stand how the vaccines work and the amount if time it takes for immunity to HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW One dose is not enough- Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines re- quire two doses to be effec: tive, , Which means a per: is still highly susceptible t to contracting the virus after the body to develop a rea- ible immune response. where's essentially a id af- ter you oe your first vacci- nation where you're still completely open to infec- tion," he said. le the data for the COVID-19 vaccine is still be- ing assessed, Heit said it ap- Julie Jocsak/ Metroland Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have about a 95 per cent efficacy rate, which means it will be ineffective five per cent of the time. pears that after that period, about 50 per cent of people will be p rotected from get: bl say anything is perfect," he said. “Thatis ecause wedo you are always going to have individuals who not respond properly.” Lo said factors such as age, diet and lifestyle can 1 play a role in a person's june response to a vac- cine. Protected people may still infect others Heit said research is still determin- ing whether a vaccinated person can get infected with the virus and subse- quently transfer it, but what is known for certaini is that ting" The second shot then Reggie Lo, professor emeritus in the ° department of molecular and cellular biology at the University of Guelph, said it about two to three weeks af- ter the second dose for im- munity to reach the 95 per cent efficacy rate that was demonstrated in reson trials. Science is not per. fect Both the Pfizer and Mo- derna vaccines have about a 95 per cent efficacy rate, which means it will be inef- fective five per cent of the This means that yes, boien that fall in that five- per-cent range can get the virus after getting vacci- nated, but this is the case with other vaccines as well, Heit said. “As vaccines go, 95-per- cent efficacy is actually re- ally good," he said. "Usually you want better than 90 or 95 per cent for a vaccine to really consider it a good public health tool. We are on par with what you would hope to see when you bring ina new vaccine.” Lo added that when it comes to immune re- sponse, nothing is 100 per cent. "In science, you cannot ple do not get any symp- oentf they were to be infec- ted, it is theoretically possi- ble that they could spread the disease to someone who wasn't vaccinat likelihood of that i jis ae byt fairly low," he said. is is because when an unvaccinated indi- vidual inhales a highly in- fectious dose, the immune system ye Over- whelmed. This leads to clin- ical illness and becoming infectious as the virus rep- licates in the body. “After the individual has been vaccinated and immu- nity developed, this will limit replication of the vi- rus in the body and hope- fully reduce the number of said. Heit said the other possibility is that vaccinat- ed patients develop such 'y against the virus that they won't get infected at all. “That, of course, is what we're hoping for because then you completely shut down any chance of those People transmitting the vi- before it can infect and start ing, it gets cleared."